Oyster Bay can ticket those shellfishing on state-owned in LI Sound, judge rules

The town of Oyster Bay can ticket fishermen for shellfishing on state-owned land in Long Island Sound without a town-issued permit, a New York State judge ruled last week.

State Supreme Court Judge Stephen Bucaria ruled from Mineola that an 1881 law that defined the northern boundaries of Queens and Suffolk counties as well as North Shore towns as the state boundary with Connecticut gave Oyster Bay jurisdiction over the state-owned land.

The ruling is the latest in a legal battle that began when independent fisherman Bryan Murphy of Huntington was ticketed in 2010 for shellfishing in waters that Oyster Bay claimed it owned but which courts have ruled belong to New York State. Bucaria wrote that his ruling does not change the ownership of the land.

"The town has established that it has jurisdiction to issue summons to the plaintiff for shellfishing in the subject waters without a town license based upon its municipal boundaries regardless of ownership or title to the land under the waterways," Bucaria wrote.

The town spent years and hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees in an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to establish the northern boundary of Oyster Bay harbor with Long Island Sound to include underwater land it had leased to private shellfish company Frank M. Flower & Sons. Murphy argued he shouldn’t have been ticketed because he had a permit to shellfish on state land.

Last year, the town shifted legal tactics and sought to have the court rule that the 1881 law established ownership over the sound north of Oyster Bay to the Connecticut border. Bucaria rejected the ownership claim in May, but last week ruled the town still had jurisdiction.

Bucaria’s new corrected ruling, issued Nov. 13, also rejected the town’s effort to restore the tickets issued to Murphy in 2010.

"The court, in the interest of justice declines that part of the motion which seeks to have the summons issued by the town to the plaintiff on January 1st and March 25th, 2010 restored," Bucaria wrote.

Oyster Bay Town Supervisor Joseph Saladino said in an interview Monday that the ruling protects the town.

"This furthers the jurisdiction of our town and makes it very clear that town of Oyster Bay residents may harvest shellfish in town of Oyster Bay waters with the town of Oyster Bay license," Saladino said.

According to the town code, only residents may obtain permits, which would mean Murphy, a Huntington resident, would be ineligible.

Murphy’s attorney, Darrin Berger of Huntington, wrote in an email that the ruling "seems to give the town the right to regulate shellfishing in those state owned lands," but "from a practical standpoint the town has no lawful right to lease land to Flower … north of the court established ownership line."

Berger said Bucaria’s ruling was a "victory" for his client because the tickets were dismissed "in the interests of justice."

A spokeswoman for state Attorney General Letitia James, whose office litigated the case on behalf of New York State, said attorneys were still reviewing the ruling.

James Cammarata, Oyster Bay-based attorney for Frank M. Flower & Sons, said Monday that he needed to review the ruling.